Iter
by LatinSucks
Summary: Robin's choice to kill Grima fails, but he still fades away. Fourteen years later, he wakes up in the field where it all started, only to find the land has been ravaged by the Fell Dragon during his absence. With the help of his deceased friends' children, now the same age as him, can he hope to right his wrongs and avenge the people that he failed? Robin x Lucina.
**I was inspired to make this story because I'm tired of reading the same stories over and over again with different titles and the same plot line. Actually my story idea has probably been used whatever. The title also sucks because it's probably going to change. I just needed something to name my Google Docs sheet and shucky darn my Latin homework fell onto my keyboard while I was thinking of a good name so there you go. I'm going to pull strings in the lore and stuff because I don't care about canon, I don't want to research, I don't want to speculate, and I don't want to play the game again. I lied I did speculate a bit. Also if you haven't noticed I'm just making a long ass author's note to milk all the words I can out of this. Something that bugs me when reading other people's writing is that though they are supposed to be like waging war and stuff, it seems to be like just the Shepherds (like all 30 of them not sure the exact number I don't like researching) VS. say like Walhart's 999999999999 soldiers. Like sure the game is like that, but that's where creativity comes in. So that means foot soldiers are my OC because they need some love. Don't quote me on that I'm probably gonna forget they exist too. Thank you for taking the time to read my dumpster tier story.**

ITER

"The job of a tactician is to secure the victory at all costs." That was what Robin was told as he accepted the offer to become the head strategist for the Shepherds. It was no wonder why he didn't like the title of grandmaster tactician then. To Robin, no life from the shepherds down to the common peasant was expendable. Some say it was luck that got Robin through the impossible odds, while others still say it was through his inhuman capabilities to read his opponents coupled with his brilliant strategical prowess. Through two theatres of war Robin led his army with remarkable numbers to boast. Robin brushed off the compliments, saying it was mostly luck and fate that got them through it all, he just made sure the odds were risks was another trait that set Robin apart from the others. Setting half of his fleet on fire to destroy the enemy was just one example out of many. Robin had yet to tempt fate and lose. That's why when he proposed to the other generals his idea for killing Grima, he was only met with mild resistance, as they knew he had a knack of defying the odds. Everyone besides Chrom, that is, who adamantly refused to support "one of the stupidest things I've ever heard come out of your mouth".

The final battle was befitting of the final set. All the other actors were finished. It was finally time for Robin's curtain call. He was to be acting as the gambler in a game of dice. Opposing him was a figure behind a wispy shadowy veil. Robin took the dice, inspecting the finely carved cubes of ivory. He rubbed the side of both dice with one dot, before shaking them in his clasped palms. With embellishment, he cast the prisms onto the table. Twelve sides tumbled in the air. They were numbered one through six, like the regulation playing dice. Snake eyes, and he took the pot home. Grima would be defeated, he would return to the realm of the living, and be back to a normal life with the shepherds. Doubles, and Grima is defeated, but he doesn't return to the land of the living. Any other number combination of numbers on the dice and Grima comes out on top. These were not favorable odds for the Gambler, but there was no other choice. With one last shake, he cast the dice.

The air was deathly quiet as the dice hit the hardwood table. They bounced once, then twice, then started to tumble, closer to the edge of the table. Then, before anyone's eyes could register what happened, the cloaked figure brought a clenched hand down hard on the prisms. With a resounded _BANG_ the two dice were reduced to a fine powder, and the table itself split in half. Not a soul stirred as they stared, speechless at the events unfolding before them. The curtains started to close. The gambler tried to get out of his chair, but stumbled and fell backwards. He desperately tried to scoot himself backwards as the Figure leapt from his seated position at robin. "You...lose!" it shrieked in mid jump. Before anyone could see what happened next, the curtains fell into place, obstructing their vision.

* * *

"Thoron!" Robin barked, a solid beam of lightning punching a narrow hole through the densely packed lines of Grimleal on the Fell Dragon's back. Ylissean soldiers tried to push into the gap of the Grimleal's wall of bodies, but it was quickly filled in as more soldiers took their fallen comrades' places. Robin had run the battle plan through his head hundreds of times in the coming hours. Strike at the heart, and severe the head; die a hero's death, then live a humble life. Literally, it made no sense, but tactically, the logic was sound enough for Robin to base his most daring strategy yet off of it. Getting to Grima would be the hardest part about it. There were so many bodies between them and Grima that aerial reconnaissance said it was impossible to see the scales of the Fell Dragon beneath them. He addressed the two people standing next to him, Flavia and Frederick, saying, "Flavia, Take your men and lead them into the enemy's right flank. Fred, lead your men into the left. They're too focused on the protecting the middle, leaving their flanks weaker. After that, we'll crush their main body on three sides"

Frederick frowned at the plan, "The Dragon's body gets narrower as we advance further up, allowing them to move troops faster than will be able to reinforce their flanks before we can attack. We will have to catch them off guard somehow…"

Then suddenly, ike ragdolls, everyone was thrown flat onto the back of the dragon as they ran into turbulence. "Now!" Robin cried out, "everyone on your feet!" Before the enemy flanks had a chance to regain their bearings, Both Flavia and Frederick's forces were already on top of them, as the main body surged forward. Victory was in sight. "Just a little further, Chrom!" Robin grunted as he avenged a soldier who was impaled by three grimleal spearmen simultaneously. Chrom didn't reply as he cut down two dark mages, before leaping at a third. The caster hastily sent a spell at Chrom, which was blocked effortlessly by the Fire Emblem, and he was swatted aside. The closer they got to Grima, the stronger and more densely packed their enemies became, until all that stood before them and their main target was the Grimleal's very best. "Regroup and form a wedge!" Robin barked. The command was immediately relayed between messengers and in only a couple of minutes the soldiers started to move like it was one living entity, until an isosceles triangle was formed out of their bodies "Cordelia, Sumia, lead the Dark Fliers overhead and give us cover from enemy air support."

"Leave it to us," Cordelia said, giving him a friendly wink. Seconds later, the gales of wind from the pegasi overhead started to make his cloak dance erratically.

"So this is is how Teach's story ends!" Vaike cried behind Robin. "We've been through so much that I can't believe it's all almost- *sniff* almost-"

"Quit your crying!" another voice interjected. "No one's dying with Robin in charge. Isn't that right?" Sully asked, giving Robin a slap on the back.

"I agree," another voice joined in, this time Nowi. "Robin, you saved me from those thugs back in Plegia. That was the first time a human showed me respect. Now it's my time for me to show you some!" she said, turning into her dragon form and doing a backflip.

Gregor also voiced his opinions, "Gregor had nowhere to go before you. You gave Gregor a new home and family. You are Gregor's brother." Gregor stepped up from the ranks and into the front lines next to Robin.

"At first I doubted who you were," Lucina joined in, "but now that I've seen who you really are, I can say this proudly, and I speak for all of us from the time that would be, that there is no one else we would rather have lead us into battle, and that you are worthy of our respect and love." The twelve arrived at the point of the battle formation with Lucina in the lead.

"You saved me life at Fort Steiger!" A soldier called out.

"I would be out beggin' on the streets if it wasn't for you!" Another exclaimed.

"Robin once drank eight tankards of ale one after the other, then after that, he saved my child from the Shadow Dragon without even gettin' a hangover!" I saw him do it meself! Soon, the entire army was yelling and shouting the good deeds that Robin had done for them. Some were obviously fabrications. Robin was about to to raise his hand for silence, but a hand caught his wrist.

"Don't," Chrom said. "All these years you've been living in my shadow. It's always been 'Chrom the hero!' when in actuality it should be 'Robin the hero!' Why don't you allow yourself to receive any credit? You deserve your place in the spotlight, more than me. We owe everything to you, Robin."

Robin looked the Exalt in the eyes before saying, "My job isn't to be noticed, Chrom. That's yours. The more people hear about 'Chrom the Exalt' the more likely they are to join our cause. I'm content with just being your shadow while you receive all the fame and glory. Besides, being mobbed by fangirls doesn't appeal to me. Robin grinned, a rare sign of emotion lately. "While I'm gone, try not to build too many statues of me," Robin said to Chrom, jokingly. His demeanor changed to a more serious one as he said, "The people need someone like you, Chrom. Not me. If all goes wrong, you can find another tactician to replace me."

"This isn't about losing our army's tactician, Robin! For someone so smart you can be so damn clueless sometimes!" Chrom yelled, angrily. "This is about losing a friend!" Chrom put both hands on Robin's shoulders so they were square with each other. "You don't have to do this," Chrom urged. "We don't even know if it will work! Growing up in the castle, it had always been Emm taking care of me while Lissa was still crawling around as a baby. You're like the brother I've never had!" Now it was Chrom's turn to show something uncommon. Weakness. Water began to pool up in his eyes, causing Chrom to turn away, wiping them with his arm. "I've already lost a sister…" Chrom muttered quietly, "am I going to have to see a brother die, too?"

Robin knew that he was stuck between a rock and a hard place, but the potential to save countless lives weighed heavily in his mind. "If I don't, then who will? It's the only way Grima can be stopped for good. A tactician has to take chances sometimes. This is one of those moments," Robin said adamantly. "Living out the rest of my life knowing that the next generation, or the generation after that would have to go through what we have done, and I had the power to prevent that all from happening…" Robin didn't finish his sentence, but instead, turned to stare towards the mass of grimleal a hundred meters out that were standing between him and his fate.

Everyone had giving Robin the support he needed throughout their various campaigns. Leading them all home was the least he could do. Especially the children of the future. Though he didn't fail them, another Robin from a different timeline failed to do his job. He would right those wrongs. With or without making it to the other side with the others.

"Very well," Chrom said quietly. There was a moment of silence before he said anything else. "Then I will support you as best I can" he turned towards his army. Scanning all of the battle weary faces. "We've come too far to give up now! Let's finish this once and for all. When we get home, the drinks are on me! For Naga! For Ylisse!" Chrom shouted to the army, raising Falchion. Immediately, thousands of voices echoed his cry, and with that, the army of the Exalt surged forward into the blackness of the Grimleal for the final push. Like a nail being hammered into the wood, the enemy ranks were driven apart.

Robin had organized everyone's positions strategically. Tharja and Henry stood behind the main body as they punched holes in the sea of bodies. Henry spotted a particularly nasty group of dark mages holding hands in a circle. He chuckled to himself before pulling out a tome and murmuring something. Screaming erupted from the circle as green slime exploded in the middle of them. They clutched their faces in agony as the skin from it sloughed off. Tharja produced charms and hexes from a small pouch. Wherever they landed, chaos ensued.

Ricken and Miriel, along with their group of spell casters, were next to the two dark mages. They were throwing Arcfire after Arcthunder at the enemy's own casters to keep them suppressed and off of the vulnerable foot soldiers. Anytime a flank was having difficulty, an arcfire overhead would punish the enemy troops, giving the initiative back to the Ylisseans.

Above, an aerial war was being waged as Ylissean Pegasus knights fought to keep their airspace clear of Grimleal. Cherche didn't flinch as Minerva clamped its jaws down on the neck of a smaller Wyvern. Shaking its head vigorously, the rider was thrown off balance and plummeted to his death. Cordelia led a squadron of knights over the enemy. They swooped down low, plowing through the helpless soldiers. She noticed that the mages were producing Elwinds from their robes. "Wind Tomes on our right!" she shouted. The Pegasus knights immediately broke formation, trying to make themselves harder targets to hit. A knight behind her screamed as a gust of wind hit her pegasus, sending them both plummeting to the ground. "Damn!" she muttered angrily. Her knights were dropping like flies as the enemy mages literally blew them out of the sky. Her pegasus suddenly twisted out of the way as an Elwind blew past them. The sudden move threw Cordelia out of her saddle. She caught a hold of the stirrup with one hand as her feet kicked wildly, attempting to find something stand on yet finding nothing. The stirrup swung within her reach and she tried to grab it with her free hand. Just as her fingers brushed the metal, another Elwind came at them, forcing the pegasus to evade it erratically. "DON'T LOOK DOWN!" she shouted to herself as she stared beneath her, a sense of panic seizing her mind as the blur of the battle beneath her. Her hand flailed about as she tried to stabilize her swinging body. Her arm started to burn from the effort of holding onto her lifeline. She tried one more time to grab hold of the other stirrup, this time barely missing her target. "Come on, come on," she muttered to herself. Cordelia saw a green glow being emitted from the wind tomes charging out of the bottom of her vision, and desperately trying again, she reached for the stirrup. Her fingertips barely brushed the metal of it before they greedily seized the metal.

Hastily, she pulled herself up. Cordelia let out a sigh of relief but there was no time for respite, though, as another Elwind came speeding past, the gust of wind from the spell blowing her hair all over her face. A pegasus with its rider came falling down right in front of them just moments later. Deciding not to stick around, Cordelia brought her pegasus down low over allied lines. _Someone has to handle their anti-air support fast or they won't have anyone to shoot at soon_ , she thought to herself. She scanned the heads beneath her as she searched for who she was looking for. "Robin… Robin… WHERE'S ROBIN?!" she shouted to herself as they flew over the Ylissean army. Then she spotted him. He was moving from the left flank back to the point. She called his name loudly, and somehow he heard. She pulled back on the reins, and the beast reared back, flaring its wings and slowing its flight. "Robin!" she gasped, relieved, "you need to reposition some of our mages to take out the anti-air casters or we will not be able to assist from the air!"

"We won't have enough spell power to support our main force," he yelled, the sound of battle making it difficult to hear. He thought for a second. "I have an idea!" he yelled again. "Do you have room for two?" he asked, a sparkle in his eye.

Cordelia caught on quick and gave him a grin, "Of course." She took his hand and hauled him onto the pegasus. The animal launched itself high up into the air where Robin had a clear vision of the battlefield.

"Take me over their mages, and I'll handle the rest." She did as he was told, and Robin produced a large, red tome. Noticing her curious look, he flashed her a mischievous smile. "You'll see". Once they were right above the mages, Robin started to read out of the pages of his tome. A faint glow started to emit out his outstretched palm. It started to grow in size before before it looked like he was holding a miniature sun. Robin was furiously chanting now, his eyes the same color as the ball of light he was holding. Instead of throwing it like Cordelia that he was going to do, a massive beam of fire shot out of it, incinerating everything it touched. The pegasus knight watched in awe as seemingly the entire battlefield was up in flames. Moments later, the beam flickered and died as the miniature ball shrunk out of existance. Robin sagged in his seat, causing Cordelia to grab one of his knees in fear he'd fall off. "How's that?" he asked with a tired grin. Scorch marks criss crossed Grima's scales, not a single mage to be seen; a sizable portion of foot soldiers had been erased from existence as well.

While Robin and Cordelia were handling the enemy's airspace, Sumia was focused on protecting theirs. She spotted a Griffon Rider about to dive bomb the former Duke of Rosanne and his company of snipers. "Virion, watch out!" she cried. Doing a mid air U-turn, Lovebird flattened itself out and folded its wings, causing vortices to form at the tips of its wings from the speed they were obtaining. Just as Virion was about to get shorter by a head length, Lovebird seemingly appeared out of nowhere, and Sumia caught the axe in mid swing using the length of her spear. She could see the shock in the man's eyes from behind his helmet as she disarmed and gutted him with her Brave spear.

"Ahhh, Sumia! What a surprise! Taken a fancy to me, have you?" Virion asked with a grin and a wink. His tone of voice telling a different story that he wasn't surprised at all; the dead griffon rider with his intestines spilling out fell with a thud behind him. "No matter, you are not at fault for falling for me, the archest of archers. It's only natural that one of the fairer sex would be attracted to a man such as myself."

Sumia grinned and shook her head in exasperation,"Sorry Virion, I'm taken and so are you." She glanced around, looking for a certain pink haired woman riding a wyvern before saying, "One day your womanizing habits will get you stuck in a hole you won't be able to dig yourself out of."

"We shall see." Virion said simply, a grin on his face. Meanwhile, Lucina and Owain were knee deep in dead bodies as they and a few soldiers broke away from the line and pushed deeper into the enemy. A swords master lept at the group, but a spear from one of their soldiers swatted him away, allowing Owain to easily dispatch him.

"You look as lovely as always," Owain said, trying to act casual as he table topped a berserker that ran at him. The Ylissean soldiers all started to attack the brute on the ground, before they were all sent flying. The giant of a man grabbed one of their spears, before smashing it into one of the soldiers that was in the air, sending him flying a few feet back and snapping it. He set his sights, who rolled between his legs as he charged at her, and slashed at his exposed back. The berserker let out a feral growl, and his muscles rippled as grabbed the body of one of his fallen comrades and swung wildly at Lucina. She jumped back to avoid getting hit, but before she could recover the berserker had already brought the body back, hitting Lucina in her midsection and sending her to the ground. The man loomed over her menacingly about to strike the final blow. He stayed frozen, his arm raised above his head. Lucina laid on the ground, anticipating a follow up strike, at the first small movement, she rolled swiftly to the side in order to dodge his swing. Instead of an attack, though, he fell face forward, Inigo's sword planted in his back. "You still look lovely," Inigo said with a grin, pulling his sword out of the dead berserker's corpse..

Lucina scoffed but her eyes showed gratitude, "We are on the back of the Fell Dragon itself, in the middle of a battle, and that's still all you can think about?" Owain blocked a strike from behind her, and as she turned to take care of the man, he winked as their eyes made contact, before turning to parry a new grimleal and riposte. Lucina rolled her eyes at his childish antics and continued to decimate all those who were around her.

Robin and Chrom both rolled to the right in order to get out of the way of the black fire that Grima was belching at them. Robin charged with his Levin sword. Grima's avatar met his blade mid strike, and with overwhelming strength, Robin's knees started to shake from the pressure of standing up. Chrom used the opportunity to sneak up behind The Doppelganger as attempted to thrust his sword into its back, only for it to avoid the blade at the last second, causing Chrom to stumble and almost impale Robin. "For Naga's sake Chrom, watch it," the tactician grunted as he pushed the Exalt off him.

"How did he know when to dodge me?" Chrom growled frustrated. Robin couldn't respond as they both jumped away as the ground started to glow purple, large black spikes erupting where they were just at. "Robin, give me a boost!" Understanding what Chrom was trying to do, Robin pulled out an Elwind. The Fell Dragon's head had started to rear back. "Now, Robin!" Chrom leapt into the air, and Robin sent an Elwind into his back. Chrom went flying into Grima's Avatar, knocking them both to the ground, leaving only an afterimage to be eaten by the Dragon. "You- Bas-tard!" Chrom grunted as he pounded his fists into the grinning man.

"IS THAT ALL YOU'VE GOT?" The avatar's head snapped sharply to the left as Chrom threw a particularly vicious right hook. Grima's eyes flashed red, before Chrom was thrown off his body by an invisible force. Giving Chrom a helping hand, Robin pulled him up.

"Ready for another round?" Robin asked. They both ran forward. But this time, they split up. Robin shot an Arcfire at the Dragon's head as Chrom met Grima's sword with his. Chrom faked a jab at Robin's face. He saw as Robin's eyes locked into his fist and attempted to stab forward with Falchion. This time, Robin's reaction was not instant, and Chrom's sword bit into the flesh of his opponents thigh. _He didn't know it was coming_ , Chrom thought to himself. A stray spark from Robin's Arcthunder caught his attention, and that's when he put two and two together.

"Robin! Keep the Dragon's head distracted!" Chrom called out

"What do you think I'm doing!?" Robin screamed as he ran away from the Fell Dragon's head, black fire from its maw leaping at his coat tails. The Robin lookalike clutched his thigh as black liquid oozed out of his wound.

"Playtime's over," Grima sneered at Chrom. His Levin sword caught on pitch black fire, and purple lightning started to arc off of it. Chrom jumped out of the way as Robin swung at him, wisely choosing not to fight him. "Stop running like a coward!" Grima screamed angrily. With a backswing of his sword, he sent a bolt of lightning at Chrom.

"Shi- Chrom got out. Before he was hit by the bolt. He blocked most of it with his sword, but was still stumbled as were overloaded by the electricity.

Grima grinned maniacally as he swung his sword like a madman, sending lightning bolt after lightning bolt at Chrom. "Stop running like your sister! Stand your ground and fight me like a true Exalt!" Chrom gritted his teeth but didn't respond as he focused on not getting fried. Frustrated at his lack of progress, Grima abandoned the lightning and leapt at Chrom. Grima held the burning sword above his head, and with the power of a God, brought it down on the prince. Chrom felt a surge of energy, and Falchion flashed from its center. He brought his sword up to meet Grima's, and the two's swords met with a shockwave. Chrom's cloak billowed out behind him as he stood his ground. He locked hilts with Robin's smaller one handed sword, and with a twist, disarmed the man. He hit Grima across the face with the flat of his sword, but did not finish him.

"I always was better at swordplay," Chrom said, bringing his boot down on Grima's head. "Robin, now's your chance!" He Chrom yelled. Robin shot a Thoron at one of the Fell Dragon's eyes, causing it to roar out in pain and temporarily blind it. He leapt into the air and fired an Elwind to cover the distance between him and Chrom. Not wasting time, he pulled out his own Levin sword. The two's eyes locked briefly. With a silent nod, Chrom said farewell to his friend.

"Here goes nothing!" Robin shouted as he plunged his sword into Grima. The sword sparked as Robin activated it's magical properties, causing the Grima to writhe in pain. More black liquid started to leak out of the his mouth, but Robin and Chrom didn't notice that. All they saw was the smile plastered on Grima's face.

"You think you win," Grima said weakly, "but you don't know anything. _Naga_ didn't know anything." He said, spitting black ichor everywhere as he said Naga's name with malice.

"Don't listen to his nonsense," Chrom said, "we've won this is his last ditch effort to spite us. This caused Grima to start laughing hysterically, black ichor flooded out of his chest chest wound around Robin's Levin sword like a small fountain everytime his chest contracted from laughter. Grima's body started to dissipate like black ashes.

"What do you mean?" Robin demanded.

"What are you doing, Robin!?" Chrom shouted at his friend angrily, "Don't tell me you're pitying this monster!"

"Chrom, stop! Something isn't right." Robin snapped back. "What are you trying to say, Grima!" Robin demanded again.

Only Grima's torso and head remained. He was still smiling his damned smile as he choked out, "I- didn't know-" he stopped to giggle, more blackness oozing out of his mouth before he continued, "-you- could be… so… selfish... Robin." Grima continued to giggle until his his chest had completely turned into ashes, leaving only his head staring at them with a hateful smile. The last thing to go was his eyes, two hateful pits of black staring back at them. Robin clutched his left hand in pain as it started to burn.

" _Gah!_ " Robin groaned as he sunk to his knees. He was clutching his left hand in a vice-like grip. "Chrom, _ack!_ , I can't feel my legs! True to his word, Chrom saw as Robin's legs started to turn into ash and flit away. Something isn't right, Chrom," Robin gasped out through his pain. "Why isn't Grima's dragon form not dissipating?" Chrom realized this too, but before he could say anything, the Dragon's head appeared above them. WIth a Ear splitting roar, black fire spewed out from its mouth and over the Ylissean army. Screams of agony pierced the air, and the smell of rotten flesh filled their nostrils.

"What the hell is going on!?" Chrom yelled. He was about to say something else before he was forced to raise the Fire Emblem above the two as the black flame poured over them. A protective forcefield materialized around them, but even with Naga's power protecting them, Robin and Chrom could still feel the heat of the fire breath. Chrom looked out at his army. Soldiers all around had discarded what was left of their melted armor, walking around blindly, their skin black their hair singed off, and their eyes reduced to pools of white jelly. That was when the spikes started to erupt. Hundreds of massive spikes shot out from Grima's scales, impaling the survivors. The ones lucky enough to be airborne were unaffected, but the ones on the ground were reduced to a fine red mist.

Chrom stared: his eyes wide as the massacre unfolded before him. Robin, too weak to make any noise, just stared blankly at the mountain of now red spikes. Tears streaming down his face. Tree sized spikes continued to erupt out of Grima's scales, closer and closer to the two men. Chrom let out a feral scream, stumbling to his feet and flung his sword off of the Dragon. Spreading his arms out wide, closing his eyes and letting his head fall back as the Spikes rushed towards him. Robin just watched silently, clutching his arm, both of his legs were gone. Robin's eyes widened in surprise, as, even though the forest of spines was still ten or so yards away, one erupted out of the ground, driving itself straight through Chrom's upright body. The size of the spike was so large it lifted Chrom off the ground as it continued to emerge. The Exalt was dead immediately, his spine severed, and his limp body lay suspended above Robin's form.

Then all was silent. Tears fell from Robin's eyes as the blood from Chrom's body above him spattered on his face. He was too weak to move his neck, and he was left staring at the thousands of massive spires where all of his friends and the Ylissean army used to be. For what felt like an eternity, he lay there helpless- before at last- he faded from existence.

* * *

 _Who am I?_ a man thought. He looked around, but all the only thing he could see was darkness. The man tried to remember how he got into such a peculiar situation, but pain seared his head when he tried to concentrate. _Who am I?_ He thought to himself again. He blinked, and a chess board was in front of him. The man found himself staring at a mirror. But the man staring back was not him, was it? The mirror was white, and the pawn in front of its king wobbled into the air before moving forward one place. The man mimicked the action. White was next, it's queen levitated until it was four spaces in front of his knight. Robin moved his knight forward to put pressure on his piece. The mirror then moved the pawn in front of its knight. Robin decided to move the pawn in front of his king forward one tile. Robin scanned the board, deciding to move a pawn two spaces forward to contest the mirror's queen. The mirror moved its left bishop before smiling. "You're turn."

The man moved his Bishop to the opposite side of the board. The mirror grinned in victory as his queen took the pawn in front of his knight. "Checkmate." The man looked at the board in disbelief, and indeed, his King was in checkmate.

"Again." he demanded. The mirror obliged, and this time, he only lasted two turns.

"Who are you?" his reflection pressed.

"Again!" The third time, The man stopped and analysed the board. He thought five moves ahead, but the mirror just grinned as it took piece after piece.

"Who are you?" It asked.

"Just shut up!" The man yelled, frustrated. Looking at the board, he stared hard at his two pieces left. "Who am I…" he said to himself. He looked at the different pieces. _Am I a rook? A pawn?_ he thought. Every time he faced the damned mirror, it always beat him. _It's always one move ahead of me,_ he thought. And that's when it clicked. _White always starts before black!_ He spun the board so he was white and the mirror had black."I am Robin, he announced. With the tables turned, he easily finished off the mirror.

"You are Robin," the mirror agreed. The chessboard disappeared, and the mirror shattered. Behind the glass was just the shape of the mirror made out of light. Assuming it to be his ticket out, Robin tentatively reached out with his finger and watched as it was enveloped by the light, his fingertips illuminating red from the radiance of the light passing through it. Robin retracted his finger. Taking a breath, he walked through the light gate. He didn't look back.

Robin's eyes slowly opened as he stared at a dull, dark gray sky. He laid there waiting for his lethargy to wear off before sitting up, wincing as his neck popped from sleeping without a pillow. He scanned the area he was in. He appeared to be surrounded by a forest, the trees around him were all gray, and lifeless, with not a leaf in sight; the ground was dry and cracked, and it appeared gray with the gloom of the sky being cast around. It was one of the most desolate places he had ever seen, more so than Plegia. Looking for a reason why it was so dark, Robin scanned the sky, finding no source of light, only dark gray clouds. His eyes adjusted what he saw caused a memory to surge forward in his head. _A bright blue sky with a field of green grass. A young woman finding me, and a man helping me up…_

 _..."there's no way,"_ he whispered to himself

 **A/N: And so Robin finds himself where his adventure first began, albeit a little different. Thank you for reading chapter 1 of my horrible story. Sorry the quality deteriorated at the end, it's like 1 AM right now and I want to get this story out. Not that there's much quality to deteriorate in the first place. This chapter took a long time to write. Like 5 hours. I had to pull most of this out of my ass. I only have a rough outline for like a quarter of the plot. I have no idea where this story is going.**


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